Maude-Aimée LeBlanc

Maude-Aimée LeBlanc
Personal information
Born (1989-02-14) 14 February 1989 (age 35)
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Sporting nationality Canada
Career
CollegePurdue University
Turned professional2011
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 2012)
Former tour(s)Symetra Tour
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipCUT: 2017, 2022, 2023
Women's PGA C'shipT31: 2018
U.S. Women's OpenT26: 2016
Women's British Open69th: 2016
Evian Championship63rd: 2016
Achievements and awards
Big Ten Freshman of the Year2008
Mary Fossum Award2010

Maude-Aimée LeBlanc (born 14 February 1989) is a Canadian professional golfer and LPGA Tour player.

Early years, education and amateur career

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LeBlanc was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec and started playing in golf tournaments at age 9. She was a member of the Canadian National Team for six years and participated in the Canadian Women's Open as an amateur in 2006, 2008 and 2009, notably paired with fellow teenager Michelle Wie in 2008.[1]

She represented Canada at the 2008 Espirito Santo Trophy in Adelaide, Australia, helping her team to a fourth-place finish and finishing fourth individually, 8 strokes behind Caroline Hedwall. She reached the quarterfinals of the British Ladies Amateur in Scotland, and finished fourth at the Canadian Women's Amateur.[2]

LeBlanc enrolled at Purdue University in 2007 as a psychology major and played with the Purdue Boilermakers women's golf team, alongside Paula Reto and Laura Gonzalez Escallon. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. As a junior, she earned the Mary Fossum Award for lowest stroke average in the Big Ten Conference, and led Purdue to victory in the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships.[2]

Professional career

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LeBlanc turned professional in June 2011. She finished tied for 7th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, and joined the LPGA Tour for the 2012 season. In her rookie season, she led the tour in driving distance with an average of 282.6 yards.[3]

In 2016, she tied for 26th at the 2016 U.S. Women's Open, and in 2017 she finished tied 7th ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, again leading the tour in average driving distance with 279.26 yards.[3]

Struggling to fully establish herself on the LPGA Tour after sustaining a back injury in 2012,[1] LeBlanc also played on the Symetra Tour, where she was runner-up at the 2015 Guardian Retirement Championship and the 2019 The CDPHP Open.[4]

On the 2021 Symetra Tour, she was runner-up at the IOA Championship, Copper Rock Championship and Island Resort Championship to finish sixth on the Race for the Card money list and earn LPGA Tour membership for 2022.[5]

On the 2022 LPGA Tour, she recorded three top-10 finishes, including a tie for 4th at the JTBC Classic. She finished tied 8th at the Women's Scottish Open after starting the day a stroke behind leaders Céline Boutier and Lydia Ko, and playing in the final group on the last day of the tournament.[6]

A year ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, LeBlanc sat second in the qualification rankings for Canada, on course to represent her country alongside Brooke Henderson, but utlimately lost the spot to Alena Sharp.[7]

Amateur wins

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  • 2006 Pacific Junior Championship, Quebec Junior Championship, Royal Canadian Junior Championship, Junior Orange Bowl International
  • 2007 Quebec Amateur Championship, Quebec Junior Championship
  • 2008 Quebec Amateur Championship
  • 2009 Big Ten Championship (tied), Ladies Midwest Shootout
  • 2010 Lady Northern Invitational, Windy City Collegiate

Source:[2]

Results in LPGA majors

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Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron Championship CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Women's Open T50 T26 70 T58
Women's PGA Championship T36 WD T58 T31 T71
The Evian Championship^ 63 NT CUT
Women's British Open 69 CUT

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Team appearances

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Amateur

References

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  1. ^ a b "Maude-Aimée LeBlanc: Looking to breakthrough". Golf Canada. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Women's Golf Roster:Maude-Aimee Leblanc". Purdue University Athletics. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Maude-Aimee Leblanc Bio". LPGA Tour. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Maude-Aimee Leblanc Bio". Epson Tour. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Maude-Aimee Leblanc clinches top 10 spot for her 2022 LGPA Tour card". Golf Canada. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  6. ^ Kopp, Steve (26 August 2022). "Maude-Aimee Leblanc – A Successful Return to Golf". Radio Western. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. ^ "IGF – Paris 2024 Olympic Golf Ranking Women's Competition" (PDF). International Golf Federation. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
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